


White Lie

by Unholy_Author



Category: Original Work
Genre: I mean he has a partner in his canon, character exploration, of a kind - Freeform, otherwise known as Fuuma's gonna be alone forever because people who like sex are obsessed with it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 04:31:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17615522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unholy_Author/pseuds/Unholy_Author
Summary: Fuuma is on yet another blind date he doesn't want to be on. It goes about as well as he thinks it will, but his brother doesn't need to know that.





	White Lie

“I don’t want to do this.”

“It’ll be good, I promise. He’s sweet, and kind, and a complete gentleman. Every time I’ve talked to him he’s been nothing but gracious,” Keto assured. Fuuma had, for a moment, the uncharitable thought that it was because this man had been seeing Keto, and not him. They may have looked the same, but Fuuma was very aware that his brother was the more liked of the two. 

“I feel ridiculous.”

“You look good,” Keto smiled, straightening his button-down slightly. It was borrowed from his brother after his own wardrobe was deemed too casual.

The doorbell rang and Keto perked up, eyes lighting with an excitement that Fuuma could never resent him for. He thought he was helping. 

“Go! Go get it!” Fuuma gave him a thin smile and went to the door, opening it and hoping maybe it was someone looking for directions. Instead, it was a friend of his brother’s boyfriend. A blind date. A chain of unrelated complaints leading to Keto deciding that they would be perfect together. And Fuuma knew exactly how it would go. How it always went. 

“You must be Fuuma,” the friend said with a big smile.

“You must be Markus,” Fuuma said in return, recalling the name Keto had given him and hoping he hadn’t mixed it up with someone else. Again. But he just smiled, too wide, too polite. 

“That’s me! And these are for you,” he said, offering a small clutch of flowers wrapped with thick plastic. Fuuma hated the feeling of it crinkling under his hands as he took it. It felt...well...plastic. 

“Thank you,” he said instead of any of that. Markus seemed pleased enough with the response.

“I’ll just go put it in some water and we can go,” Fuuma said, turning. Almost immediately the flowers were out of his hands.  
“I can do it. You two have fun! And if you aren’t going to be back before midnight let me know so I can leave the light on,” Keto said with a big smile. Fuuma knew what he meant. Text if he was in trouble or wanted out. It was a system they’d made in high school, when Fuuma first learned how cruel men could be. 

“I doubt we’ll be out that long, it’s just dinner.”

“Oh,” Markus said, startled for a moment before he smiled again. “Of course I’ll have him home in plenty of time, sir,” he added with a teasing salute to Keto. Fuuma blinked. 

“Why did you call him sir?”

“It was just a joke, Fuuma,” Keto said, gently pushing on his back to get him out the door. “Have fun tonight!”

“We will!” Markus laughed. He gestured for Fuuma to go in front of him and Fuuma sighed as he went around and got in the passenger seat of the strange car parked in the drive way. He was already exhausted. 

~~~~~

“So, your brother said you haven’t dated in a while,” Markus said as the waitress walked away from taking their dinner orders. “Why is that? Work?” He was much more blunt than most men were when addressing it. Fuuma couldn’t help but feel slightly upset that this was how Keto chose to introduce him to people, but it wasn’t untrue.

“Something like that,” Fuuma lied as he swirled his glass of more ice than water with a straw. He’d wanted lemonade, but that was a very immature drink and he was meant to be making a good impression.  
“Yea, me too,” Markus smiled. He kept doing that. Smiling. When they weren’t making direct eye contact it dropped into a more neutral, natural expression. But the second their eyes wandered close or Markus said something he was smiling again. It was odd. Not the smile. If Fuuma weren’t so uncomfortable he may have called Markus and his smile handsome. No, it was odd in that Fuuma was usually the one of any group or gathering who smiled the most, and now he didn’t feel like smiling but had it directed at him so often that he felt obliged to return the gesture. The insincerity of it made his cheeks hurt. 

“You haven’t dated in a while?” Fuuma asked when the silence stretched on too long. He put his hands in his lap underneath the table so he could fidget without Markus noticing.

“Yea, I travel for work a lot, you know how it is,” he laughed. “Nothing more than flings and things set up by friends.” Fuuma absolutely did not know. 

“Are you unhappy?”

“No, no of course not,” Markus said. “It’s just unsatisfying sometimes, not having someone you can just...talk to and be open emotionally with.”  
“Don’t you have friends?” Fuuma asked with a blink. Markus laughed, eyes squinting up with his smile.

“It’s not really the same, is it?” Fuuma had no idea if it was or wasn’t. The longest relationship he’d been in.....

“I guess not,” Fuuma said, because that’s what he was expected to say. He wanted to go home. He wanted to make chocolate milk and watch a cooking show and go to bed. 

They made small talk for a while. How was your day? What do you do for work? Do you have any pets? It sure has been hot lately hasn’t it? Markus didn’t say anything out of line. Anything that made Fuuma upset or uncomfortable. He seemed perfectly kind, just like Keto had said. 

“You look amazingly hot tonight, by the way.” Ah. Suddenly Fuuma felt a little gross. Of course Markus was thinking about him that way. Of course he was thinking about this in an attraction sense. A sexual sense. Of course. 

“Thanks.” He was saved from the quick mental scramble to come up with something to compliment him on in return by the waitress coming back with their food. Fuuma had never been so relieved to see cheese ravioli in his life.

“Sorry, was that weird? I don’t know if I can say I think you’re attractive when you look just like my friend’s boyfriend,” Markus said.

“Yea, maybe you shouldn’t say you’re attracted to us,” he said with a laugh that was more awkward than polite. Markus cringed softly and Fuuma did the same. This was getting much worse faster than it was getting better. Maybe he needed to just clarify. “I don’t want sex.” Markus blinked and then gave a thin smile.

“That’s understandable. On first dates I know some people don’t-”

“No, I mean I don’t want sex. That’s why I haven’t been dating. I never want it.” There was a moment of silence over their food, Markus staring.

“Right. That’s…good to know. Cool,” he said, suddenly much more interested in his steak than Fuuma. Fuuma sighed. He should have known better.

The rest of the night was…cordial. Markus wasn’t upset with him in any direct manner. He wasn’t rude or unpleasant. But he was suddenly much cooler toward him and he didn’t smile.

On the way back to Fuuma’s house, Markus cleared his throat.

“So…I had a good time.”

“Me too.”

“Uh, the only thing is, I’ll be out of town for a while and I don’t know when I’ll be able to call….”

“You don’t have my number.” Markus cringed softly and then laughed.

“I don’t? I could have sworn I did. Must have slipped my mind or-”

“It’s okay,” Fuuma said softly. Markus dropped his tense smile and sighed.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I just don’t know how to do…this. With someone who doesn’t…” He waved a hand, and when it was clear he wouldn’t finish Fuuma looked out the window.

“It’s okay.” They pulled in front of the house, the porch and living room lights both on. They hadn’t been gone more than an hour and a half. 

“Hey, listen. Some advice, from one guy to another,” Markus said when Fuuma reached for the door handle. Fuuma paused and glanced back at him. “It’s hard enough dating as a gay guy, maybe drop the whole no sex thing. If you keep saying you don’t want it, you’ll never get a date.” Fuuma gave him a thin smile.

“I know.” He got out of the car and headed up the steps without another word. He heard Markus drive away before he even reached the front door. As soon as he was inside Keto, who was on the couch with a book and clearly waiting for him, looked up with a big smile.

“Hey, you! How did it go?”

“Good!” Fuuma said with an equal smile. Keto seemed to relax a bit.

“Oh, that’s great. Are you going out again?”

“I’m not sure. He said he’d be out of town for work soon, but I’m sure we’ll set something up when he gets back.”

“That’s a shame. But I’m sure you two can figure out how to see each other again. He may finally be the right guy,” he said with a nod. Fuuma laughed softly to himself.

“I don’t know about that.”


End file.
